Barbara Valentin

In March 1974 Rainer Werner Fassbinder released what would become arguably his most loved work. Fresh from the Cannes Film Festival, where it had earned its director two prizes, Fear Eats the Soul would soon delight audiences the world over with its tale of romance and racial prejudice in present-day Munich. Emmi (Brigitte Mira), a widowed cleaning lady in her sixties, meets Ali (El Hedi ben Salem), a Moroccan immigrant in his thirties. Seeking companionship, the pair marry to the outrage Emmi's family (including Fassbinder himself as her aggressive son-in-law), her friends and her colleagues. Paying homage to the classic melodramas of Douglas Sirk, in particular All That Heaven Allows, Fear Eats the Soul is a beautifully performed look at intolerance and hypocrisy, and a key film for both Fassbinder and the New German Cinema. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS Brand new 4K restoration from original camera negatives High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation Original uncompressed PCM mono audio Optional English subtitles Audio commentary by critic and lecturer Mark Freeman My Name is Not Ali, Viola Shafik's 2011 feature-length documentary on the life and death of El Hedi ben Salem, star of Fear Eats the Soul Newly-filmed interviews with director of photography JÃ¼rgen JÃ¼rges Theatrical trailer

Rainer Werner Fassbinder already the director of almost twenty films by the age of twenty-nine paid homage to his cinematic hero Douglas Sirk with this updated version of Sirk's All That Heaven Allows. Lonely widow Emmi Kurowsky (Brigitte Mira) meets Arab worker Ali (El Hedi ben Salem) in a bar during a rainstorm. They fall in love - to their own surprise - and to the shock of family colleagues and drinking buddies. Fassbinder expertly uses the emotional power of the melodrama to underscore the racial tensions threatening German culture at the time.

Simulacron 1 is a highly advanced project designed to elevate conventional computer technology to a new level by creating a virtual reality inhabited by computer-generated people or 'identity units'. When the head of the project dies mysteriously after showing signs of mental disturbance Dr Stiller becomes his successor. However Stiller also begins to behave bizarrely. He speaks of people disappearing whom no one else knows belives someone is trying to murder him and has nausea attacks. As he begins to probe deeper into Simulacron the line between the real and virtual world becomes increasingly blurred and his own existence is questioned. Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 2 part TV production is a science-fiction classic that explores the notion of a computer-generated other world pre-dating The Matrix by 26 years. Since its original broadcast in 1973 it has rarely been shown and following increasing demand the Fassbinder Foundation have restored this remarkable film under the artistic direction of the film's highly acclaimed cinematographer Michael Ballhaus.

Verdi was almost eighty when he startled the musical world with his mastery of comic invention in his last opera Falstaff with its brilliant libretto by Arrigo Boito. The story is taken from Shakespeare's play The Merry Wives of Windsor although the central character is much closer to the Falstaff of Henry IV. The roguish Sir John embroils himself in numerous plots and dupes of love and marriage until eventually the Merry Wives get their revenge on him and all plans are thwarted. When Carlo Maria Giulini returned to conducting public performances of opera after an absence of fourteen years he chose this comic masterpiece for the occasion. The great lyric baritone Renato Bruson sings the title role. Katia Ricciarelli leads the trio of merry wives with Lucia Valentini-Terrani as Mistress Quickly and Brenda Boozer as Meg Page. Leo Nucci sings the role of Ford and the young lovers are here portrayed by Dalmacio Gonzalez and Barbara Hendricks. Stunning designs by Hayden Griffen and Michael Stennett provide the perfect setting for this witty interpretation of Shakespeare's masterpiece.

More than a quarter of a century after his death director Mario Bava remains one of international cinema s most controversial icons. Today his influence marked by stunning visuals daring sexuality and shocking violence can still be seen in the works of Martin Scorsese David Lynch Tim Burton Dario Argento and countless others in a legacy that extends far beyond the horror genre. This collection brings together 5 landmark movies from the first half of Bava s career encompassing the original giallo a bold Viking epic and his three gothic horror masterpieces featuring new transfers original European versions and exclusive featurettes to create the definitive celebration of one of the most important filmmakers of all time. Set Comprises: The Mask Of Satan: In the 17th Century Moldavia the evil Princess Asa is condemned to death for witchcraft and vampirism along with her brother Prince Igor Javutich. Two hundred years later two doctors en route to a medical convention discover her crypt and accidentally set her resurrection in motion! With the help of Javutich and others whom she enthralls with her cold dead kiss Asa sets her sights on her ultimate victim-princess Katia her own twin descendant! Black Sabbath: Boris Karloff is your host for Bava's 1963 classic triptych of terror which set new standards in graphic violence and spellbinding horror. Michele Mercier stars in The Telephone a tale of lesbian obsession and murder. In The Wurdalak Karloff stars with Mark Damon as the patriarch of a family of bloodthirsty ghouls. And in The Drop Of Water Jacqueline Pierreux is a nurse stalked by the vengeful spirit of a dead medium. The Girl Who Knew Too Much: Nora Davis (Leticia Roman) jets away to Rome to vacation with Edith an old family friend. Unfortunately her trip is anything but relaxing... On the first night Edith dies - and as Nora runs into the night for help she becomes an eyewitness to a murder as she sees a woman stabbed to death on the Piazza di Spagna! Being a young woman with an insatiable appetite for murder mysteries Nora can't get anyone to believe her story but with the help of the attentive Dr. Marcello Bassi (John Saxon) she learns that a murder did occur on that very spot - 10 years earlier - when Emily Craven fell victim to the Alphabet Murderer! What did Nora Davis really see and who is stalking her through Rome? Could it be the Alphabet Killer looking for victim D? Knives Of The Avenger: With husband King Harald missing at sea and presumed dead Queen Karin goes into hiding with her young son Moki to escape being forced into marriage with Hagen a general of Harald's army and now a bloodthirsty pretender to the throne. Wary of strangers she turns a beggar away from her cottage but upon hearing her cries for help the stranger returns and saves her from being assaulted by two men - with two well--thrown knives! The blademaster Rurik (Cameron Mitchell) is allowed to stay and he takes the boy under his wing teaching him the arts of survival. In time he recognizes Karin as the queen whom he raped years ago on her wedding night in merciless retaliation for Hagen's murder of his own wife and son. Realizing that Moki might be his own son Rurik now has a family to defend - and another to avenge - as Hagen and his soldiers converge on their hiding place! Kill Baby ....Kill! A doctor investigating a young woman's apparent suicide in a Balkan village discovers the locals believe the ghost of a baron's daughter is responsible. The victims in the small Transylvanian village are being found dead with gold coins planted in their hearts.